| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+[4] |
| MusicHound | 3.5/5[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Flag is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. Released in May 1979, it included songs from Taylor's music score to Studs Terkel and Stephen Schwartz's Broadway musical, Working ("Millworker", "Brother Trucker").
The album was not particularly well received, but it did provide a hit in Taylor's cover version of the Gerry Goffin–Carole King composition "Up on the Roof." (Taylor's final top 40 hit)
"Rainy Day Man", which was originally featured on Taylor's self-titled debut album, was re-recorded.
The signal flag that makes up the cover of the album is "O (Oscar)", standing for man overboard.
On the 12 May 1979 episode of Saturday Night Live, Taylor was the musical guest, and performed three songs from the album, "Up on the Roof", "Millworker", and "Johnnie Comes Back".[7]
Track listing
All songs by James Taylor unless otherwise noted.
Side One
- "Company Man" – 3:47
- "Johnnie Comes Back" – 3:55
- "Day Tripper" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:25
- "I Will Not Lie for You" – 3:16
- "Brother Trucker" – 4:01
- "Is That the Way You Look?" – 1:59
Side Two
- "B.S.U.R. (S.U.C.S.I.M.I.M.)" – 3:23
- "Rainy Day Man" (Taylor, Zach Wiesner) – 3:02
- "Millworker" – 3:52
- "Up on the Roof" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) – 4:21
- "Chanson Française" – 2:05
- "Sleep Come Free Me" – 4:43
Personnel
- James Taylor – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1, 3-6)
- Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar (1-5, 7, 8, 10, 12)
- Waddy Wachtel – electric guitar (2, 10), acoustic guitar (4)
- Dan Dugmore – pedal steel guitar (5)
- Don Grolnick – clavinet (1, 2, 3, 5), electric piano (1, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12), organ (4, 7, 8, 12), ARP String Ensemble (5), acoustic piano (9), harmonium (9), shoe (9)
- Ralph Schuckett – organ (2)
- Leland Sklar – bass guitar (1-8, 10, 11, 12)
- Russ Kunkel – drums (1-8, 10, 11, 12), cowbell (3), timbales (3), congas (11)
- Steve Forman – tambourine (2), timbales (2), Mazda phone (5), cowbell (7), congas (8), waterphone (8)
- Peter Asher – timbales (4), shaker (5), backing vocals (7)
- David Sanborn – saxophone (4)
- Jesse Levy – cello (9)
- Louise Schulmann – viola (9)
- David Spinozza – string arrangements and conductor (3)
- Arif Mardin – string arrangements and conductor (10)
- Larry Touquet – cell door effects (12)
- Graham Nash – backing vocals (1)
- Alex Taylor – backing vocals (5)
- Carly Simon – backing vocals (7)
- David Lasley – backing vocals (8)
- Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (8)
Production
- Producer – Peter Asher
- Engineer – Val Garay
- Assistant Engineers – Lincoln Clapp and George Ybarra
- Recorded and Mixed at The Sound Factory (Hollywood, CA).
- Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA).
- Art Direction and Design – John Kosh
- Photography – Mark Hanauer
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 18 |
References and notes
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ "Rolling Stone review". RollingStone.com. 2010-03-29. Archived from the original on 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 1125. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ "James Taylor: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Saturday Night Live (1975) - Episodes - IMDb
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 305. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.